So in a discussion about Cáo XuěQín's Dream of Red Mansions 曹雪芹《红楼梦》, the instructor Ben Wang kept saying things like "Xiren was a slut" which really angered me because if you look at the text in Chapter 6 it was pretty clear that the maid Xiren was raped. I was also annoyed that neither of the two official translations made it clear that she was being forced, so I can see why English readers would assume she consented but in fact this was not the case at all. However the instructor is a native Chinese speaker, so I think he's just toeing the line for the patriarchy because heaven forbid that the male protagonist is called out as a rapist.
"Baoyu was always fond of Xiren's gentle loveliness and charm. He forcefully grabbed both of Xiren's sleeves urging her to let him have his way. Xiren was aware that she was gifted to Baoyu by his grandmother, and therefore cannot make excuses. Embarrassed, she resisted for half the day, and to no avail, with no alternative, she had an intimate moment with Baoyu."
宝玉亦素喜袭人柔媚姣俏，遂强拉袭人同领警幻所训之事，袭人自知贾母曾将他给了宝玉，也无可推托的，扭捏了半日，无奈何，只得和宝玉温存了一番。
Bǎoyù yì sùxǐ xí rén róumèi jiāo qiào, suì qiáng lā xí rén tóng lǐng jǐng huàn suǒ xùn zhī shì, xí rén zì zhī jiǎ mǔ céng jiāng tā gěile bǎoyù, yě wú kě tuītuō de, niǔniēle bànrì, wúnàihé, zhǐdé hé bǎoyù wēncúnle yī fān.
Translator: 鸑岚朠 Yuè LánYīng
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